1. Strategy
Who it serves, how it makes money, and the first 90 days.
1.1 Executive summary
This business serves small offices and community organisations that need catering for 20 to 60 people but cannot find a caterer who handles mixed dietary requirements reliably. Operating from a hired commercial kitchen two days a week keeps overhead low while allowing consistent, safe production. Demand from organisations with diverse dietary needs — halal, allergy, texture-modified — is real and chronically underserved by generalist small caterers.
1.2 One-line pitch
Corporate catering that gets allergies, halal, vegetarian, and texture-modified meals right every single time.
1.3 Target market
Office managers and community coordinators in metropolitan areas booking catering for 20 to 60 attendees, typically earning $55,000–$85,000 and responsible for staff or community events. Their pain: finding one caterer who can safely handle halal, nut allergies, and texture-modified needs in the same order without errors.
1.4 Revenue model
Revenue comes from per-head catering packages priced at $28 per person for a standard order of 20 to 60 covers, invoiced per event. A secondary stream — a standing weekly morning-tea platter for a small office team, billed as a flat monthly retainer — added from month 4 onward.
Headline price: $28
1.5 What you expect to sell
| What you sell | One sale is | Price | Starts | Most possible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-event catering package per person | cover | $28 | From launch | 480 a month |
| Weekly morning-tea platter retainer | retainer | $420 | Month 4 | 8 a month |
| What you sell | Month 3, conservative | Month 3, expected | Month 12, conservative | Month 12, expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-event catering package per person (covers per month) | 60 | 100 | 180 | 280 |
| Weekly morning-tea platter retainer (retainers per month) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
These are the founder's own assumptions. Every revenue figure in the Finance section is calculated from these counts and prices.
1.6 Competitive advantage
Twelve years of volume cooking under strict aged-care dietary protocols means allergy separation, texture modification, and halal compliance are built into every order — not an afterthought that generalist caterers bolt on.
1.7 Key competitors
Competitor descriptions are general. Check them against current public information.
Generalist small caterers who offer a dietary checkbox at checkout but have no production system for separation — halal and allergen items travel together, errors happen at peak volume.
Restaurant or café catering arms that run corporate orders as a side activity — their kitchen is optimised for dine-in, not simultaneous multi-dietary batch production for 40-plus covers.
Large institutional catering contractors who do handle complexity but require minimum contracts of hundreds of covers and price out small offices and community groups entirely.
1.8 Budget allocation
Breakdown
| Category | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial kitchen hire — first 3 months | Two days per week for twelve weeks at ~$100 per day | $2,400 |
| Opening food and packaging stock | Ingredients and labelled containers for first four paid events | $1,800 |
| Equipment and food safety supplies | Colour-coded boards, transport trays, labels, and thermometers | $1,200 |
| Business registration and compliance costs | ABN, food business registration, and council permit fees | $600 |
| Marketing materials | Printed capability sheets, sample menus, and a basic one-page website | $600 |
| Reserve / contingency | Emergency buffer — do not spend unless necessary | $1,400 |
Total budget: $8,000
1.9 90-day priorities
Licences, permits and registrations depend on your business and location. Check what applies to you with ABLIS at ablis.business.gov.au.
Week 1–2: Sign a recurring two-day-per-week commercial kitchen hire agreement and produce a printed per-order dietary checklist covering allergen, halal, and texture-modified separation.
Week 3–6: Cook and deliver one free tasting event for a community organisation or small office; photograph the spread and collect a written testimonial for use in outreach.
Week 7–12: Send a dietary capability one-pager to 30 targeted office managers and follow up each with a direct message; convert at least two into paid bookings before week twelve.
1.10 Recommended launch markets
Community organisations — multicultural associations, disability support groups — often needing halal and texture-modified in one order; approach three local groups in month one with a tasting offer.
Small professional offices of 15 to 40 staff via direct email to office managers; send a one-page dietary capability sheet and a sample menu to 30 offices in weeks three and four.
Neighbourhood Facebook groups and local business association email lists where office managers discuss suppliers; post a specific message about handling mixed dietary orders, not a generic ad.
1.11 Key risks
A single dietary error can end the business — build a printed checklist per order that is signed off before any food leaves the kitchen, starting from the very first booking.
Commercial kitchen hire may not be available on the two days needed as the business grows — confirm a twelve-month weekly booking in writing before taking any orders.
Cash flow is uneven when events are sporadic — require a 50 percent deposit at booking, paid via invoice before the cook date, on every single order from day one.
1.12 Test the idea
Per-event catering package per person: you assume about 100 sales a month by month 3, at $28 for one cover. Test it before you spend: ask people who fit your target market whether they would pay $28 for one cover. You assume you can deliver up to 480 a month. Test it with a short trial run before you commit to that many.
Weekly morning-tea platter retainer: you assume $420 for one retainer. Test it before you spend: ask people who fit your target market whether they would pay $420 for one retainer.
2. Product
The website plan: the pages needed and what each should say.
2.1 Homepage hero copy
Catering for 20 to 60 people that handles halal, nut allergies, vegetarian, and texture-modified meals in the same order — without the errors that leave someone without a safe meal on the day.
Primary CTA: Request a Quote
Recommended platform: Squarespace
2.2 Website pages
| Name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Home | Establish credibility with office managers and community coordinators by immediately naming the dietary complexity this business solves and prompting an enquiry. Squarespace suits this founder's $8,000 budget: lowest monthly cost, fastest launch, no developer needed — a basic site was explicitly budgeted at $600. |
| Menus & Pricing | Show the $28 per head package structure, explain what dietary requirements are covered in one order, and make it easy to request a quote for 20 to 60 covers. |
| How It Works | Walk office managers through the booking and dietary confirmation process, building trust that errors will not happen on their watch or their event. |
| Contact | Convert visitors into enquiries with a short form capturing event date, cover count, and dietary needs — enough to produce a quote without a phone call first. |
2.3 Copy brief per page
Home
Hero headline names the dietary complexity solved — halal, allergen, texture-modified, vegetarian — in one reliable order for small offices and community groups.
One-paragraph credibility statement: twelve years cooking under strict aged-care dietary protocols, applied directly to corporate catering for 20 to 60 covers.
Three-icon strip contrasting this service against generalist caterers who use a checkbox, café catering arms with no batch-separation system, and large contractors with minimums small groups cannot meet.
Single testimonial block from the free tasting event completed in the 90-day plan, with organisation type, cover count, and dietary requirements handled.
Menus & Pricing
Clear $28 per head pricing for the standard 20-to-60-cover package, with a note that dietary complexity — halal, allergen, texture-modified — is included, not a surcharge.
Sample menu showing a realistic mixed-dietary spread: labelled dishes, separation method briefly described, and portion sizing for a working lunch format.
Standing weekly morning-tea platter explained as a from-month-four option for small office teams wanting a regular delivery without rebooking each time, with indicative monthly flat-rate pricing.
Prominent call-to-action button linking to the Contact page enquiry form, with a line noting a 50 percent deposit is required at booking to confirm the cook date.
How It Works
Step one: submit the enquiry form with event date, cover count, and each dietary requirement — a quote is returned within 48 hours.
Step two: confirm the booking with a 50 percent deposit invoice; founder then produces a printed per-order dietary checklist signed off before any food is prepared.
Step three: food is cooked, labelled by dietary category, and transported in separated trays — explain colour-coded labelling and what that means for allergy safety on the day.
Step four: delivery and setup at the office or venue, with each dish clearly identified so the person managing the event can distribute safely without guesswork.
Contact
Short enquiry form with fields for: name, organisation, event date, number of attendees, and a free-text dietary requirements box — no phone number required to start.
Response time promise: enquiries received by Thursday are quoted the same week, giving office managers enough lead time to confirm with their team.
Brief reassurance line noting minimum order is 20 covers and maximum is 60, so the business is sized specifically for small events — not a scaled-down version of a large contractor.
3. Marketing
How to reach the first customers: channels, messages, and a launch campaign.
3.1 Positioning statement
A small caterer built to handle halal, allergen, and texture-modified meals in a single reliable order for offices and community groups of 20 to 60.
3.2 Key messages
One caterer handles halal, nut allergies, vegetarian, and texture-modified in a single order — no errors, no one missed out.
Twelve years cooking under strict aged-care dietary protocols means safe separation is built in, not bolted on at the last minute.
Sized for 20 to 60 people: request a quote online and get a response the same week your enquiry arrives.
3.3 Target channels
| Channel | Why it fits | First action |
|---|---|---|
| Direct email outreach to office managers | Office managers booking catering for 20–60 people respond to a specific, credible one-pager in their inbox — not ads. | Write a 150-word email naming the three dietary problems you solve and link to the website's Request a Quote page; send to 10 offices this week. |
| Local community and business association groups online | Community coordinators at multicultural and disability support organisations actively seek caterers who handle complex dietary needs in local discussion groups. | Post one specific message in three local community noticeboard groups describing halal, allergen, and texture-modified catering for small events — no generic ad copy. |
| Printed capability sheet distributed in person | A one-page printed sheet listing dietary capabilities and $28 per head pricing gives office managers something physical to pass to a colleague or pin to a noticeboard. | Print 30 copies of your dietary capability sheet and drop them at three professional office buildings or community centres in your area this week. |
3.4 Content plan
A follow-up email sequence of two messages: the first delivers the dietary capability one-pager; the second, sent five days later, shares the tasting testimonial and links to Request a Quote.
Three specific posts in local community and business noticeboard groups: one on halal and allergen separation, one on texture-modified catering for community events, one sharing the tasting outcome with a photo.
A single-page printed sheet listing every dietary requirement handled, the $28 per head price, minimum and maximum cover count, and a QR code linking directly to the Contact page enquiry form.
3.5 Launch campaign
Name: One Order, Every Requirement Covered
Concept
A free tasting event offered to one community organisation or small office demonstrates the multi-dietary capability in person, producing a testimonial and photographs that anchor all outreach and the website's credibility block — driving decision-makers to Request a Quote.
Timeline
4 weeks: week 1 identifies tasting host and sends 10 direct emails; weeks 2–3 run the tasting, photograph, and collect testimonial; week 4 sends follow-up capability sheets to 20 more offices using testimonial as proof.
What to measure
Two confirmed paid bookings with 50 percent deposit received by the end of week twelve.
3.6 Budget allocation
Breakdown
| Category | Purpose | Amount | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing materials | Professional printing of 50 dietary capability sheets with QR code | $120 | Marketing materials |
| Marketing materials | Basic one-page website build and first-year hosting subscription | $480 | Marketing materials |
Total budget: $600
4. Finance
The numbers: projections, costs, and what is needed to break even.
All figures are before tax and before anything you take out of the business.
4.1 Financial summary
Startup money goes on kitchen access, opening stock, food safety equipment, compliance, and marketing. Each month the main fixed costs are kitchen hire and a website subscription. Every event sale must cover ingredients, packaging, and labelling before anything is left over. The number to watch is covers sold per month — that single variable determines whether the business covers its fixed costs. This is a draft financial plan, not financial advice. Review every figure with a qualified accountant before acting on it.
4.2 Your key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total start-up spend | $8,000 |
| Budget left unspent | $0 |
| Cash still available after day one | $1,400 |
| Fixed costs each month, months 1–3 | $110 |
| Fixed costs each month, month 4 onwards | $910 |
| How long your cash lasts | 4.2 months |
| Sales needed each month to cover fixed costs | $1,337 |
All figures are recalculated from the approved inputs below. Volumes stated per week are converted at 52 weeks divided by 12, and per fortnight at 26 fortnights divided by 12. Prices are the amounts the founder receives per sale. Runway assumes no sales at all.
4.3 What you spend to start
| Cost | What this money does | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial kitchen hire — first 3 months | Pays 3 months of commercial kitchen hire up front | $2,400 | Two days per week for twelve weeks at roughly one hundred dollars per day |
| Opening food and packaging stock | Becomes goods you sell | $1,800 | Ingredients and labelled containers ready for first four paid events |
| Equipment and food safety supplies | Spent once, then gone | $1,200 | Colour-coded boards, transport trays, labels, and thermometers |
| Business registration and compliance costs | Spent once, then gone | $600 | ABN, food business registration, and council permit fees |
| Marketing materials | Spent once, then gone | $600 | Printed capability sheets, sample menus, and a basic one-page website |
| Reserve / contingency | Kept as cash | $1,400 | Emergency buffer — do not spend unless something goes wrong |
| Spent on day one | The lines spent once, bought as goods or paid up front | $6,600 | — |
| Kept as cash | The lines kept as cash | $1,400 | — |
| Total | $8,000 | Against a budget of $8,000 |
4.4 What you pay every month
| Cost | Each month | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial kitchen hire | $800 | Two hired days per week at roughly one hundred dollars per day |
| Website subscription | $30 | Monthly plan on a hosted website builder, as recommended in the product plan |
| Accounting and tax compliance | $80 | Cloud accounting software to track invoices, deposits, and costs |
| Total each month | $910 | Paid whether or not anything sells |
4.5 What you sell
| What you sell | One sale is | Price | Cost per sale | Left over | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-event catering package per person | cover | $28 | $9 | $19 | From launch |
| Weekly morning-tea platter retainer | retainer | $420 | $130 | $290 | Month 4 |
Per-event catering package per person — cost per sale covers: Ingredients, dietary-labelled packaging, and separated transport trays per cover
Weekly morning-tea platter retainer — cost per sale covers: Platter ingredients and packaging across the four weekly deliveries per retainer
4.6 How much you expect to sell
| What you sell | Month 3, conservative | Month 3, expected | Month 12, conservative | Month 12, expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-event catering package per person (covers per month) | 60 | 100 | 180 | 280 |
| Weekly morning-tea platter retainer (retainers per month) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
4.7 What that means month to month
All figures are before tax and before anything you take out of the business.
| Scenario | Money in | Cost of sales | Left for fixed costs | Fixed costs that month | Left after fixed costs | Covers fixed costs? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 3, conservative | $1,680 | $540 | $1,140 | $110 | $1,030 | Yes |
| Month 3, expected | $2,800 | $900 | $1,900 | $110 | $1,790 | Yes |
| Month 12, conservative | $5,880 | $1,880 | $4,000 | $910 | $3,090 | Yes |
| Month 12, expected | $9,520 | $3,040 | $6,480 | $910 | $5,570 | Yes |
Left for fixed costs is money in less the cost of making those sales. Fixed costs that month are lower while prepaid items last. Left after fixed costs is what remains once that month's fixed costs are paid.
4.8 What it takes to cover your costs
At the expected month-12 mix of sales, covering fixed running costs of $910 a month takes about $1,337 of revenue.
Every scenario covers that month's fixed costs. Month 3's fixed costs are lower while prepaid items last, so each scenario is measured against its own month.
The one thing that moves this most: Covers sold per month — more events or larger bookings move the business to surplus fastest
4.9 What these numbers assume
Conservative month-three covers assume one confirmed booking rather than the two to three needed for the expected figure — early referrals take time
Kitchen hire is available on the same two days each week under a written twelve-month agreement — unconfirmed availability would break the cost model
The fifty percent deposit policy holds from the first booking, keeping cash available before each cook date
Opening stock covers the first four events; replenishment cost-per-cover applies from event five onward
The approved per-head price is assumed sufficient to cover consumables and leave a margin — monitor actual ingredient costs against this with every order
4.10 What to watch
If early bookings cluster into one month and then pause, cash outflows for kitchen hire continue while no revenue arrives — the deposit policy partially offsets this but does not eliminate the gap
Ingredient and packaging costs for multi-dietary orders may run higher than estimated per cover, compressing margin on every sale if not tracked and corrected order by order
Payment collection risk: clients who delay paying the final fifty percent after an event create a cash shortfall that accumulates quickly at low monthly volumes
4.11 Check these before you spend
Your largest start-up cost is Commercial kitchen hire — first 3 months, at $2,400. Get a written quote before you pay it.
Your largest monthly cost is Commercial kitchen hire, at $800 a month. Check that figure before you commit to it.
Each cover costs $9 to deliver. Check that against a supplier's price before your first sale.